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Corruption in Concrete
The Bloomberg administration has moved decisively to deal with a burgeoning scandal in the industry that tests the strength and durability of concrete used in public and private construction projects in New York City. The city's decision to create a laboratory to evaluate concrete for city building projects will help to fend off shoddy building materials that could shorten the lives of public structures and that could potentially leave them vulnerable to catastrophic failure. Beyond that, a new unit in the Buildings Department will audit the work of the three dozen or so companies that the department licenses to evaluate concrete used in construction. These changes come in the wake of a widening investigation by the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Robert Morgenthau, which has already charged two testing companies as well as some executives with fraud for allegedly falsifying concrete testing results for both public and private structures. Investigators have also uncovered documents that suggest possible collusion between a tester and contractors, who are said to have ordered overnight delivery of test reports that are supposed to take 28 days to complete. The investigation is still in the early stages and could yet uncover pervasive fraud in this crucial industry. The city testing laboratory will be located in the Bronx and operated by the city's Department of Design and Construction. In addition to testing concrete for a wide range of city agencies and projects, the lab will also help the Buildings Department audit concrete tests performed by private companies. Posted by: Fred 2009-09-13 |
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